Merely Labeled (Audio and Unedited Transcript)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
New York, NY 1990 (Archive #791)

An audio recording and unedited transcript of a teaching on emptiness by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the Great Enlightenment Temple, New York, on September 9, 1990. The edited version of this talk has been published as Chapter Five in the book How Things Exist: Teachings on Emptiness.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Sera Je Monastery, Mysore, India, 2013-2014. Photo: Bill Kane.

So now then, as I mentioned yesterday, again you see, yeah, we so the happiness, suffering, all came from one's own mind, one's own happiness, suffering all came from one's own mind so one's actions and that depends on one's own mind, so we generate motivation that bodhicitta, the highest motivation, the most pure motivation, then the bodhicitta unstained by the worldly concern that seeking only happiness of this life, not that, and motivation of listening to the teachings not that and not seeking even the happiness of future lives, which are still temporary happiness samsaric pleasures and not even the ultimate happiness for self so then to achieve full enlightenment for the sake of only others the sentient beings who are equaling the infinite sky. So for that reason in order to free them from all the sufferings, obscurations, lead to full enlightenment then I am going to listen to the teachings the graduated path to enlightenment. So it is extremely important to listen to the teachings with such this attitude altruism.

Then also righteous conduct of listening to the teachings and also according to the traditional practices of the lineage lamas.

This I, for us this I, the self, means there's always, it always appears, everything always appears as inherently existent, real one from its own side, always the refuting object. So, now the I, so even by saying this I that's enough for the refuting object, doesn't need, even without describing true existence, the additional thing for most of us, just saying I itself what appears and what we believe that the truly existent I. So, by saying I, it is included there.

So however this I the aggregate of form is not this I, feeling is not this I, aggregate of recognition is not this I, the recognition is not this I, the compounding aggregate is not this I - the compounding aggregate means all these fifty-one mental factors, from the fifty-one mental factors you leave out the recognition and feeling, those two thoughts you leave out, then all the rest of the thoughts, mental factors are the compounding aggregates or what it compounds, it compounds its own result, the continuation. For example, today's consciousness produces tomorrow's consciousness, so compounds, it compounds the result tomorrow's consciousness. So like that, in general way of speaking like that. So these, from fifty-one mental factors leave out those two, feeling and recognition, then the rest giving the name compounding phenomena or compositional mental factor, that which compose or that which compounds its own result so that which has its own result, its own continuation, its own resultant mental factor.

So, this is not this I and the aggregate of consciousness is not the I and even the whole group is not this I; and this I is nowhere it exists on these aggregates. Even the whole group of these aggregates is not the I because this whole group of these aggregates is the basis to be labeled I. So it becomes clear like that that it is not the I. And this I doesn't exist anywhere on this, doesn't exist anywhere, neither on the body nor mind, nor even the whole group. Nowhere it exists. So this is one clear way to meditate on emptiness, to see, to be able to see, to be able to understand the basis and the label.

So, yeah, so but that does not mean that there's no I - there is I. The reason why there's I is nothing else other than the reason that there's the aggregates. That there is these aggregates, association of body and mind that there's aggregates is this. So by that, it is believed, that there's I, me, I, it's just merely, it's just believed, me, I, there is I. So just because only that the reason. The other way to meditate on emptiness is then why, what I'm doing here now, I'm sitting. So why do I call, I'm sitting? What is the reason to believe, to say that I am sitting? There's no other reason at all I am sitting, to believe I am sitting, there's no other reason at all except only the reason is that the body, the aggregates, the body is doing the action of sitting. That's all. And I say I am thinking, why I believe, I say "I am thinking" there's no other reason at all except only that the aggregate of mind is thinking, mind is listening to teachings. So I am thinking, I am listening to teachings. So it's believed, because the mind is thinking, listening to teachings, so it is believed that I am listening and meditating.

This way of meditating then it helps to recognize the refuting object when you use the reasons there's no other reason at all except the aggregates is sitting and standing and eating and drinking, sleeping, like that, and then it is believed, I am standing, I am sitting, I am eating, I am drinking, this and that, it is believed. So merely imputed depending on the aggregates and the actions of the aggregates.

So when we put the reason is the aggregates then suddenly there's a change in your view of the I, there's a big change suddenly that concrete I, the real I, suddenly there's a big change, suddenly it becomes empty there, suddenly it becomes empty right there, which was real before, real one from its own side it's not there. Then when you don't think of that reason of the aggregates then everything comes back. The I that which is merely imputed appears as real. So this way of practicing awareness meditating doing analysis of the nature of the I by using the reason of the aggregates and its actions, existence of the aggregates and its actions anyway aggregates and its actions, so it helps to see clearer and clearer what is the emotional I the I that which appears real from its own side, so which is completely empty, doesn't exist. So it makes more and more clear by, when the mind is distracted then you look at the I, how it appears, the self, how it appears and then again you put the reasons then again you don't find, when you analyze you don't find that that real I, the real self, the emotional I which appears the emotional I you don't find, you don't see that, which means that it doesn't exist, which is a sign that it doesn't exist.

So yeah, like this, however so, unable to find the I on these aggregates nothing of this is the I and on this there's no I that does not mean that the I doesn't exist, I exists, there is I in this temple, as there is, during this hour the aggregates is in this temple so therefore it is believed that the I am here in this temple, it is believed just by that, it is believed I am in this temple. And I am listening and I am talking experiencing tiredness and experiencing sleeping and like this [RL, GL]. And so forth [RL]. The talk is going on and on [RL] uninterrupted talk, going on and on, anyway.

So, these meditations which I mentioned just now and before, those different ones can be used to meditate on emptiness to see the nature of the I and also that which I mentioned yesterday, especially what I mentioned, described yesterday and at the beginning of today's discourse maybe try to meditate a little bit in that, especially that, the, so you look at your appearance and the things appearing real, things appearing from its own side existing from its own side then in the process then most important one is think that's hallucination the projection and most important thing, then hallucination. This projection is a hallucination because it doesn't, it's like, yeah its, it's like the same thing, the camera takes, the camera records the figures whatever it is, emerging or fighting or whatever it is the various activities are recorded and then with the machines and electricity like that then it projects on the wall, but but there's no, but it's not true, what you see there it's not true, it's not real, there's no people fighting there, there's no people in the TV, there's no human beings in the TV, there's no human beings on the screen, there are thousands of people fighting on the screen, but there's nobody there on the screen. So like that, so it's not real, in other words it's not true, what appears is not true, it's not real. So like that exactly like this so the ignorance left imprint on the mental continuum is like the camera took pictures, with the camera recorded on the negative rolls like that.

So the projection of true existence and so the main thing to meditate on, the most important thing to meditate on is that this is hallucination. So when you think of hallucination then what understanding comes in your heart is that these things are empty do not exist, not the house but the truly existent house, house that which appears existing from its own side, so that doesn't exist, that's completely empty. So like this. So that is the emptiness, that is the ultimate nature of the house.

And also like this, like the house, the self, action, object, everything, the whole city, the whole department shops, the whole, so the, so everything that which exists is covered by hallucination, by true existence, so then, so by recognizing that that is hallucination then what understanding comes in your heart is that they are empty. So then you practicing awareness in that emptiness. So in everyday life, during work, not only during meditation but also in the working time to remember again and again practicing this awareness you look at appearance and they are all unlabeled appearance unlabeled things, so this means hallucination, the projection, hallucination, so empty. So empty, one doesn't have to say the word, because empty it comes when we say this is hallucination, these unlabeled things are hallucinations and it is empty comes naturally in your heart, the understanding.

So so with this awareness then one can go for shopping, you stand up from the room and you wear shoes and things like that and with the awareness then you go out by car, like this, and when one is walking in the road, also with this awareness, with the recognition of appearance this is hallucination, this truly existent thing.

And so in other words yeah, then like this, yeah maybe first, so like this, so empty I after recognizing the I that which appears real from its own side this is projection, this is hallucination so what you understand it is empty. So this empty I walking on the empty road to the empty shops, so like that [GL]. So everything is like this. In the reality it's like this. So, yeah, so the, yeah then like this.

The I is yeah, merely imputed on these aggregates, okay. The aggregates even these general aggregates any of the, from the five, any of them is not the general aggregates and even the whole group, this is not the general aggregates because it is the basis to be labeled aggregates, the general aggregates, okay. So the aggregates is also merely imputed on these. So now each of the five, aggregate of form, feeling, aggregate of form again this is, not the, any part of the body is not the aggregate of form even the whole group of the body is not the aggregate of form. Aggregate of form is merely imputed on this body.

So like this yeah, so each of the aggregates is merely imputed on the basis on their own basis. So aggregate of consciousness is merely imputed on the consciousness, that particular mental factor which does the main function to see the essence of the object and the consciousness or the mind which continues from one life to another life, which carries the imprints left by the karma, yeah, so on that, so labeled "consciousness." And so each of those aggregates is merely imputed on their own basis. Even this body each limb, the head, the mouth is not the head, the nose is not the head, the brain is not the head, the ears is not the head, any piece of it is not the head, even the whole group is not the head it is the basis to be labeled head whole group is the basis to be labeled head, it's not the head. So like that.

So with each piece, ear, nose, brain, each pieces are like that everything is merely labeled on another label and that label is given to another label, like this. So like this the arms are labeled on these, each piece of this is not the arm even the whole group is not the arm and the whole group is the basis to be labeled arm so it's not the arm. So again each piece is also labeled on another label. So again legs the legs are, the physical, each part, thigh and so forth are not the leg, each piece is not the leg, even the whole group is not the leg. The whole group is the basis to be labeled the leg. So even each piece is labeled on its own basis.

So it goes down to the atom, even the atom is labeled even each particle of the atom is not the atom, not the general atom, the group of the particles is the basis to be labeled atom. So even the particles of the atoms are labeled on their own basis. So from the I and aggregates, all the labels, everything is labeled imputed on another label imputed on one base which is labeled on another base and that base is labeled on another base so everything is in Tibetan what is called "da-yo", exists being labeled. So everything is a label starting from our aggregates, everything exists being labeled. So everything is completely empty, starting from the I, aggregates, everything, down to the atoms, particles of the atoms, everything is completely empty existing from their own side.

So but this concrete thing that which appears to us it hallucination. The real concrete the truly existent I, aggregates. So same thing with the house, this house, this temple, now this is not temple, that is not temple that part is not temple, that part is not temple, this part is not temple, this is not temple, this is not temple, this is not temple, nothing of this is temple, even the whole group is not temple, it is the basis to be labeled temple so it's not, even the whole group is not temple. It's the base to be labeled, to be imputed temple. So like this. So so the temple is completely empty of existing from its own side.

So now the ceiling, even each piece is not the ceiling, even the whole group is not the ceiling because the whole group is the basis to be labeled ceiling. So the windows, each piece, each part is not the window, even the whole group of that is not the window, because it's the basis to be labeled window. So it is completely something else, what we normally think temple and windows, that and the reality, how they really exist it is completely something else when you analyze. That we all the time talk, talk, talk, these think, think, think, think, think, write, write, write, write but actually what appears and what we think, when we analyze it's something else completely which we never thought which we never think, which we never write or which never appear to us completely something else.

So everything is like this. Even the floor each piece is not the floor even the whole group of the pieces is not the floor because they are the basis to be labeled floor. So then so then again you analyze each piece like that. So everything, so it goes down to the atom again and then the atom is also the same thing, the particles of the atom particles "of" the atoms so which means the particles are not the atom and so even the whole group of the particles is the basis to be labeled atom. So from the temple down to the atom everything is labeled, put label on this, put one label on this, then put another label, put another label on the label like that so one name put on another name, so like that.

But the reality is like this but there's something concrete concrete window, concrete temple like this existing from its own side so this is a projection, this is a hallucination. A projection by ignorance and this is a hallucination, it's empty.

So so like this, now, so from morning until night build house which is empty, eating food which is empty, married with the wife who is empty, married with the husband who is empty, having child who is empty, working in the office which is empty one get empty money and go to empty shop to buy empty food, empty things, go to empty department store, go to empty supermarket, but empty food, go back to empty house so like this.

The merely labeled I is born from merely labeled parents and go to merely labeled school and learn merely labeled education from the merely labeled teacher then get merely labeled degree then get merely labeled job then get merely labeled say professor or whatever it is merely labeled, then married to the merely labeled husband and have merely labeled child and then, yeah, so like this, so from birth to the death, merely labeled birth to the merely labeled death the whole thing between beginning with the birth and in between and end of the death, everything is merely labeled. So merely labeled money, go to merely labeled shop and buy merely labeled things wear the merely labeled dress, eat merely labeled food. So however like this. So how the reality is this.

So however now the most, the very important thing, sometimes we think, what's the use of, what's the benefit of the teachings on emptiness sometimes one might think that, Oh, what does it help when we have problems in the daily life, in everyday life? These philosophies what does it help? Sometimes you might think like this. However this is the most, if one can think this, if one can remember this, it's the most powerful, this is the most powerful, like atomic bomb, most powerful meditation to break the hallucinations. The problem happens in our daily life because of the hallucination, the believing the hallucination is real. So therefore most powerful thing that immediately like atomic bomb to stop the problems is this, to remember emptiness. So especially when we are in a situation to create problems in our lives and to cause harm others, ?which you need among other people danger to create very heavy negative karmas, great harm to other sentient beings danger to rise anger, very strong, very uncontrolled desire, very dissatisfied mind and depressions and because of that then not being succeed and depressions even you don't remember the reasons why you are depressed, but still depression happens when one is not aware of emptiness, the emptiness of the I, the emptiness of things then the depression. When one is aware of the emptiness, when one is meditating on emptiness, there's no depression, no way is there depression at that time. So depression happens by apprehending, anyway the hallucinations believing that they are real, the truly existent. Yeah, even one does not remember the particular reasons why I am depressed but most times there is reasons, because one didn't get succeed, one didn't get what the desire wants, what the selfish mind wants, desire wants, didn't get so then depression happens. Yeah, so like this.

So very important to remember especially emptiness in those, when one is, in the daily life when one is in those situations that creates a lot of confusion to harm, great harm to oneself and to other sentient beings. Very important to remember as I mentioned before, remember this is a projection, this is a hallucination these things which looks real from its own side, this is projection, this is hallucination. So then meditate strongly in that empty. And also one way of meditating in emptiness, looking at everything as empty; one way to meditate is dependent arising, how everything is merely imputed, self, action, object, that's one way of practicing awareness in everyday life while one is working in the office, at the home, family while one is talking in conversation, especially you are having conversation something that which brings, there's danger to bring, having meetings or especially that yeah, other people complaining, criticizing you complaining or or somebody praising making, causing to develop pride arrogance, pride in other words causing to rise another delusion. So again meditate on emptiness. Again either dependent arising practice awareness of dependent arising or emptiness so anyway, which is the same, which is one meditation.

So when one meditate on the emptiness then if fear rises losing the I, one must, that is a very good sign when the fear rises losing the I, whether it's outside phenomena or whether the self if it gives some, so the lower intelligent beings the fear rises, for them with the higher intelligence, bodhisattvas, when they realize emptiness then incredible joy rises like found precious treasure that one never had before, like that, incredible joy. So the lower intelligent bodhisattvas the fear rises.

So however when fear rises when one do analysis on the emptiness so that means that the connotation of emptiness is working working on the right point, hitting on the right point it is hitting on the concept of true existence, it means it is hitting on the object what this ignorance apprehends, it harms to that. So if fear rises, then one mustn't escape from the fear, that is a very good sign, the fear rising is what is needed, that is the sign of the meditation is working on the right point so therefore one should go beyond from fear, one should experience fear and one should go beyond from that. So what if one go beyond from, if one let this fear rise if one go beyond from that then then without obstacle one is able to realize emptiness of the I. But if one stop the fear, while the fear rises, if one stop the fear, then cannot see, you cannot realize completely the emptiness of the I.

So therefore this is an extremely important thing to know so when one has accumulated so much merit and when one does strong purification, when one does very intensive purification with the Vajrasattva or the different practices and when one has strong devotion to one's own virtuous friend, the guru, also mind training in the devotion, mind doing the meditation on the developing the devotion, devotion to see the virtuous teacher in the essence of Buddha. So all the devotion is very strongly developed then during those times by doing a little meditation on emptiness then experiences can happen. Even, yeah, just concentrating in the meaning of just two or three words of emptiness you can get the experience.

So the most important thing is that when the fear comes to not escape away, to go beyond from that, then you can, fear rises because one feel losing the I, so there's no way to lose the I, the reality, the mere I there's no way to lose the self because the continuation of consciousness always exists, because there's always continuation of consciousness that goes to enlightenment and that always continues. So therefore the I which is imputed on that it always exists, I which is imputed on that it always exists, there's no way to cease. So therefore there's no need to worry about falling in the extreme, falling in the nihilism, no need to worry about that completely ceasing the I, one no need to worry. It appears like that, losing the I, it appears like that but no need to worry to cease the I.

So losing the I, that is in reality it means you're losing the truly existent I it's a start to see the emptiness of the I, you see emptiness of the I. The emptiness by the truly existent I. So this is one very important thing to know.

So once one the emptiness, either the I is completely lost when one get this experience, completely lost and then one see the Middle Way, one has seen the Middle Way, the path of the Madhyamika the Middle Way. And then after one has realized emptiness then what one should do is then one should attempt to stabilize the concentration one-pointedness concentration, by studying the, from shamatha meditation the methods to stop attachment-scattering thought and the sinking thought, how to stop those things, how to establish one-pointedness concentration is by learning those techniques from there, then one should stabilize the one-pointedness concentration. So if one hasn't actualized shamatha before then then one can actualize shamatha after having realized emptiness on the basis of this.

Through this then one can generate what is called great insight. One is able to derive the extremely refined body and mind bliss, the rapturous ecstasy, by doing analysis in emptiness.

So one has experience that the I is completely lost, that kind of the I am losing and that the I is completely lost nothing to, something, you have been holding something from beginningless rebirths that you have been holding but now it's, there's nothing to hold on so suddenly there's nothing to hold on, so one has the experience like that. So what has been holding on is the wrong the false I, the truly existent I, which doesn't exist, you have been holding on that from beginningless rebirths, so that's why we're still in samsara haven't achieved even, besides not enlightenment, haven't achieved even liberation for self, ultimate happiness for self, because we have been clinging on that holding on that from beginningless rebirths. So continuously we circle in samsara in the hell, naraks, hungry ghosts, preta and animal, then deva, human being, gods so always, until we cut off, until we don't let it go, until we see that it empty and stop, cut off the ignorance by realizing emptiness, the root of samsara, the ignorance the root of samsara then we have to always wander in this continuously we have been doing that from beginningless rebirths then also then we will be wandering continuously and suffer, for example, the human being problems that we experience again and again so without end.

So everything came from one's own mind, everything is merely imputed and everything is imputed so by the mind, so everything comes from the mind, okay. So now, all appearance everything imputed by the mind so everything came from the mind and all the appearances happened by labeling, whatever appears to us all the appearances, happened by labeling so again all the appearance came from the mind, all the appearance of life came from the mind.

So appearance of friend came from the mind, so before one labels "friend" there's no appearance of friend. After one labels "friend" because the person loves me, the person did something good then one labels "friend" then it appears as friend. The enemy by, the person doesn't love me or the person hates me or the person does harm to me then because of that reason then one label "enemy" and there's appearance of enemy. So all these appearances came from one's own mind and then the feelings, with the appearance of enemy then one has unpleasant feeling; with appearance of friend, then there's a pleasant feeling, and with the other one, suffering feeling. So all this is created by one's own mind, came, originally it is created by one's own mind, came from one's own mind.

So as I mentioned yesterday without, yeah, without labeling snake on, there's no appearance of snake. So after labeling "snake" on that piece of rope which is in dusk time then there's appearance of snake. So same thing, a person who doesn't recognize, who doesn't know the Bush is the American President, who doesn't know that. For that person's view first there's just appearance of just a person, just a man in the view of that person just a man. Then, somebody tells that person, This is the American President, then that person also labels, Oh, this is the American President. Then when that person believes in his own label, after he himself imputed that then believe in his own label only then, only after this then there's appearance of American President.

So so like this from morning until night, from birth to death the whole samsara, nirvana the whole appearance that we are here, that I see you and you see me, all the temple, everything the whole appearance including the appearance of the American President, all this came from our mind, all the appearances, everything came from one's own mind.

So this is one important point also to remember in our daily life, especially when we are in a situation that creates, there's danger to create problems, confusion, to rise delusions danger to create heavy karma. So in this way there's nothing to blame to other people, other sentient beings. One put the label bad and good first, you make your own interpretation and then put the label bad and good then you, you make your own appearance, bad or good, then you get angry then you blame to other sentient beings it doesn't fit it's not logical, it doesn't make sense.

So you don't find anything to blame to others even by this reason, okay. All the appearance came from one's own mind, how things appear. How things appear depends on how you interpret, how you label how you look at, how you interpret depending on that then you label. In other words, how you look at it. How things appear depend on how you look at it.

And also so like this when somebody, when a friend, when you hear the friend doesn't love you, hates you, still that is not the problem. Even you, after that you label that is bad, after that then you label "It is bad," you interpret that the other person cling to you, is not attached to you, then one interpreted that, or that has no loving thoughts, loving kindness, whichever way however still that is not the problem. And even one labels, even after one labels, It is bad, one interpret that is bad, that means bad, even after one labels bad, still it is not the problem. So the problem is when you start to believe in your own label, That is bad. After you label that is bad, then when you start to believe in your own label "bad" then it becomes a problem. When one believes in one's own label "bad," then that time it becomes problem. That time then life become difficult, not before that. We can see that just only, even you label it is bad, even by just the label "This is bad" still it is not the problem, the problem is that after one label, then one start to believe, when one start to believe in your own label then that is what makes life difficult. So you can see the whole problem came from one's own mind, one's own mind creation.

And so the last thing that is so the ignorance, the concept of true existence the mind not knowing the nature of the I and so forth, nature of the I and the aggregates, so this which is like the farmer, then the karma, which is action that which is motivated by this ignorance is like the field from where the different types of, bad and good, various types of crops grows. Then, this consciousness on which the karma leaves all the imprints, seeds, so that is like the seed, that consciousness is like the seed that which, one tiny seed that which carries all the potentials to grow huge tree, huge stem huge tree and many billions and billions and billions of branches that which covers so many space, ground. So the seed which carries all this potential so the consciousness is like that, the consciousness on which the karma left all the imprint is like this seed which contains all the potentials.

So the consciousness continued from the past life to this life and this life to the next life, so by carrying, so it carries all these imprints and then t hen the imprint that which is left by karma on the consciousness, that which is made ready to bring its own rebirth, future samsara, the aggregates, it's made ready by craving and grasping like minerals then like the stem, so that imprint which is ready to bring its own rebirth, which is ready to throw its own future samsara, the aggregates, so that is called becoming, like the seed that is ready to produce its stem. Then the next life, then name and form start, so that is like stem that is grown from the seed. So then after that, what comes is the sense bases, contact, feeling, then rebirth, death, life and death, old age and death.

So the conclusion is that, so from birth until death, from today, from this morning until tonight, happiness, suffering, whatever we experience and whatever object, whatever appearance we have today whatever bad and good, whatever appearance we have today, all came from the consciousness, consciousness carries all the imprint. And from birth up to death including this rebirth all the appearances that we have from birth to death, all came from the consciousness, came from one's own consciousness.

So from, then same thing like this, the samsara, so anyway, like this, the whole thing, the whole appearance what we have the samsara, everything comes from this consciousness. Different experience, that we meet different people, place, different objects of senses, everything came from the consciousness that which carries the imprint. And not only that, everything, all these appearances what we have today and from birth to death the whole appearance of the samsara, the whole thing came from the consciousness, not only that, besides that, came from consciousness which is one's own mind. And not only that, came from the karma, which is also one's own mind. So thought which is risen, the intention risen from the principal consciousness so that is the karma the definition, so karma is one's own mind. So everything came from one's own mind, karma. Then not only that all these appearances came from one's own mind, ignorance, all the appearances that we have.

So like this, including the day-to-day life undesirable object and desirable object then also somebody giving harm, somebody giving help, all came from one's own mind. So therefore like this, while we are driving car in the road when the imprint from past time, imprint from past karma left on the consciousness, when that is experienced, so while you are driving in the car comfortably but suddenly there's a car accident or suddenly as you come out of the door, suddenly somebody shoots with a gun no reason - you don't have to know that person before. While one is walking in the road suddenly somebody appears and beats. However that time the imprint is manifested it's actualized in the appearance, the karma is actualized, the imprint is manifested, it produced the appearance of somebody beating you, somebody with gun suddenly shooting you. Same thing in the family somebody giving you a hard time, beating you or scolding you or complaining you so all these things came from one's own mind so it's very good to remember when somebody's giving you are hard time badly treating you, disrespecting, criticizing so very good to recognize that this came from my consciousness, from my karma, this came from my ignorance. Like that. So there's nothing to blame, nothing to get angry to that person.

So same thing, the hells, naraks, hungry ghosts, pretas, animal, the hell sufferings, all those heaviest sufferings of hot and cold and hunger and thirst, all those things are the same, it manifested from the consciousness, from one's own mind, the consciousness, from the karma, from the ignorance. It's a production of the ignorance. So, like that.

So therefore it is very important, so therefore we don't know what, we cannot tell what karma I have created only this karma, I haven't created that karma we don't, since we cannot see all the karmas what we have created, we cannot say I won't experience these problems even in this life I won't experience the leprosy or the coma, for years living in a coma or this, all these things cancer, AIDS and this and that however the problems that we see others experiencing we cannot say a hundred percent, I won't experience, I won't become like that, we cannot say.

So therefore it is extremely important, while we are healthy and - we have all the necessary conditions to practice Dharma, to meditate on the graduated path to enlightenment, we have met the right path and the qualified masters, even one hasn't met yet the qualified masters one has the chance, opportunity to meet so all the necessary conditions. So therefore it is, this is right time that to purify, to practice, without wasting the life, time to practice to study the listening, reflecting, meditation on the path however to purify, the most important one to purify the negative karma accumulated in the past to purify then attempt to not to accumulate negative karma again, as much as possible. So to purify is one, on the top of that to stop creating negative karma again, such as either so by living in the vows, by taking vows then there's merit all the time. So purpose of taking vows, precepts taking precepts, living in the vow is solution that's one method to stop creating negative karma again, cause of the sufferings. So this way, one purifies past obstacles, one do not create the obstacles again to generate, to develop the mind in the path to enlightenment. So without obstacles then one become enlightened then able to guide all sentient beings. So, yeah, I stop there.

[Dedication prayers]

Please dedicate the merits to generate the altruism, bodhicitta, in one's mind and in the mind of all sentient beings, those who have generated, may it be developed. Due to the three time merits accumulated by me and by others, due to these merely labeled merits, may merely labeled I achieve the merely labeled enlightenment and lead the merely labeled sentient beings to the merely labeled enlightenment.

[Prayers in Tibetan]